Chris Coombs facts for kids

Chris Coombs (born June 21, 1984) is an American chef and restaurant owner. He is known for his French-American cooking style. Chris is also a co-owner of Boston Urban Hospitality, a group of restaurants located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Early Life and Culinary Training

Chris Coombs grew up in Peabody, Massachusetts. His mom was a preschool teacher, and his dad worked in a factory. Chris started working in kitchens at a young age. When he was just 11 years old, his first job was washing dishes at a local seafood restaurant.

He loved cooking so much that he decided to go to a special school for chefs. From 2002 to 2004, he studied culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Chris Coombs' Cooking Journey

After culinary school, Chris started working in famous kitchens. In 2003, he worked with Chef Ming Tsai at a restaurant called Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Later, he moved to Nantucket Island to work at Toppers, a fancy restaurant. There, he met another famous chef, Patrick O’Connell. Chef O'Connell was so impressed with Chris that he hired him to work at his luxury restaurant, The Inn at Little Washington, in Washington, Virginia. Chris stayed there until 2005, cooking for important guests, including Laura Bush and for events at The White House.

Returning to Boston

In late 2005, Chris came back to Boston. He worked at a few restaurants before settling at Troquet. While there, he met Brian Piccini, who owned a restaurant called dbar in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Brian wanted to make dbar's food even better, so he let Chris try out new dishes on Sunday nights. These Sunday dinners became very popular!

In August 2006, Chris became the head chef at dbar. He changed the menu to focus on using fresh, local ingredients that were in season. Soon after Chris arrived, dbar received a great review from the Boston Herald. Chris even planted a large garden on dbar's roof. This garden still provides fresh vegetables for the restaurant today.

Opening New Restaurants

In 2010, Chris Coombs opened his own restaurant in Boston called Deuxave. This restaurant quickly became very successful. It received a 3-star review from the Boston Globe and a special 4-Diamond award from AAA. Boston magazine has also named Deuxave the “Best French Restaurant” many times. In 2017, Deuxave earned four stars from Forbes Travel Guide, which is a very high honor.

In 2013, Chris opened his third restaurant with Brian Piccini. It was called Boston Chops and was a steakhouse in Boston's South End. This restaurant is known for using all parts of the animal, including special cuts of meat called offal, along with traditional steaks. Boston Chops has won several awards, including “Best New Steak Houses” from Food & Wine magazine.

Awards and Recognition

Chris Coombs has received many awards for his cooking and business skills. In 2013, Forbes magazine named him one of their "30 Under 30" in food and wine. Zagat also put him on their "30 Under 30" list that same year. In 2015, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association named him "Restaurateur of the Year."

He has also appeared on TV shows like Food Network’s Chopped. Chris has cooked at the famous James Beard House several times, creating special dinners for their guests. Since 2013, he has also been a spokesperson for HP Hood Cream and even wrote a cookbook for them.

Boston Chops Downtown and Beyond

In May 2018, Chris opened a second Boston Chops restaurant in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston. This new location had more private dining rooms and started serving lunch. It gained a lot of attention for its "Instagram Table." This special table in the dining room has extra lights to help diners take great photos of their food for social media! You can only reserve this table by sending a message on Instagram.

Boston Chops Downtown was named one of “The Most Beautiful New Restaurants of 2018” by Eater and one of “The 18 Best Restaurants in Boston” by Conde Nast Traveler.

Chris Coombs and Brian Piccini own Boston Urban Hospitality (BUH), which is the company that manages their four restaurants. Chris also helps organize the Forbes 30 Under 30 Food Festival in Boston. He has appeared at other big food festivals too, like the South Beach Wine and Food Fest and the New York City Wine and Food Fest.

Personal Life

Chris Coombs is also interested in fitness. He believes that eating well and exercising helps him manage his ADHD. He often talks about this approach instead of using extra medications.

Chris Coombs' Restaurants

• dbar
• Deuxave
• Boston Chops South End
• Boston Chops Downtown